ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday took suo motu notice of non-availability of clean drinking water in Balochistan’s Bolan district.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar took notice of the issue after a video made rounds on social media and a programme aired on a private TV channel showed residents of the area and animals drinking contaminated and unhygienic stagnant water from the same pond.
CJP Nisar directed the advocate general, chief secretary, secretary health, secretary public health engineering department and deputy commissioner to appear in court on December 14.
In September, the Higher Education Commission decided to propose a taskforce to address water scarcity in the province.
This decision was announced by HEC Chairperson Dr Tariq Banuri while chairing a meeting at the Commission’s Secretariat on academia’s role in addressing the water crisis in Balochistan. The meeting further discussed the prevailing water scarcity, challenges and future opportunities regarding groundwater recharge, water reservoirs, water usage efficiency, clean drinking water and water resource management.
